Groomer charged with animal cruelty after 3 dogs die in his care

A man who runs a mobile dog grooming business was being held in Broward's main jail Tuesday facing three counts of animal cruelty after Miramar police say three dogs in his care died when he left them in a work van.

Charliston Seixas, 51, of Miramar, was being held on a $3,000 bond Tuesday.

According to his arrest report, Seixas, who own The Pet Club, 14483 Miramar Pkwy., picked up three dogs — named Lancelot, Frida and Sophie — from a family at about 9 a.m. March 18.

By the afternoon, the owner began to worry that she hadn't heard from Seixas so she called. After trying four to five times to reach him with no response, she drove to the business, a police officer wrote in the report. When she got there, she found that the business was already closed so she went to the business owner's home, which was nearby.

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Seixas first told her the dogs had been delivered, according to the report. Seixas then said he forgot them at the business, so he got in his work van and drove to the store. The owner followed.

An officer wrote that Seixas went into the business and soon came out “crying and talking on the phone.” The owner's husband then opened Seixas' company vehicle “and observed all three dogs deceased inside the vehicle,” the officer wrote.

The dead dogs were in the van that Seixas used to drive back to the store, an officer noted in the report.

A necropsy later determined that “the cause of death of all three dogs was consistent with fatal heatstroke after spending an undetermined amount of time inside the vehicle,” according to the report.

Last month, the owner Danielle Trentin told Local 10 that Seixas had groomed her 15-year-old Shih Tzu, 10-year-old sheltie and 6-year-old mixed breed for the three years.

“That's what hurts me most, because I couldn't do anything to save them, you know,” Trentin told the station. “I keep thinking, like, they were there thinking, 'Where is my mom? Why is she here not saving us?”